Fragments of Love and War
by ConstantVigilanceV
Summary: War is never kind to lovers and often creates unusual allies. They never really knew where they stood with one another, only that it was rarely together. Only the brutality of war could change all of that.
1. Chapter 1

Tree branches sliced at her cheeks and tripped up the progress of her feet as she ran through what felt like the unending density of the forest. She had no idea where she was, only that the safe house had been infiltrated and whoever was giving her chase was closing the distance between them too rapidly.

With the light of the full moon as her guide, she darted between trees and dodged spells that struck with startling accuracy near her head. She was unsure of how long the chase had gone on. All she knew was her breathtaking exhaustion from running for too long of fumes of adrenaline.

Had there been others running with her she would have continued the chase a little longer so they could come together with a solid plan, but there was no one else. She was alone in an unfamiliar area with an army of faceless enemies behind her.

She stopped running, her mind slowly turning over a plan.

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><p>In an instant it felt as though the entire forest fell silent. He stopped his progress and listened as the others came to a stop alongside him.<p>

"We'll split up and take her."

"Remember not to kill her. He said we could have a bit of fun but he wants her _alive._"

They divided and went in separate directions and for the first time he realized that his hands were trembling. He held his wand in front of him as he took off to continue the hunt but there were several times when he was sure he would drop it and give into the breakdown that he knew had been coming for some time.

_No. Not my son! He's just a boy…leave him!_ _He saw the flash of green, remembered the potency of his mother's rage and terror as she was struck down by the man he had sworn to call Master. No one had gone to her. He remembered that as a cold ball of anger and disgust settled in his stomach. His father had looked away, just another hooded coward, while he swore his world was collapsing around him._

Now, his breath caught in his chest and he tucked his wand away, leaning against a tree for support. He tipped his head back and gulped in deep breaths even as his heart swelled with misery.

He didn't have time to get his breathing under control or determine if was in the grips of a breakdown because he was suddenly thrown completely off balance; standing one second and colliding with the ground in the next instant.

He was so stunned, for a moment he had no idea how to fight back. His breath was completely gone from the impact of his body meeting the ground and he was left gasping as someone slammed him back and sat on his chest.

"Accio wand!"

It was when he felt the tip of his wand dig into his neck that his instincts kicked in and managed to struggle and throw the weight off his chest. He scrambled forward and caught hold of their foot, keeping them in place only until they managed to use the other foot to aim a kick that landed solidly against his shoulder and sent him stumbling.

"Bloody hell."

His attacker thought they had gained the upper hand and stood but he was quick to kick their legs out from under them. He felt at least a small amount of pleasure when he heard a sharp intake of breath and pained cursing but his triumph was short lived as he heard the distinct sound of his wand snapping in half; a casualty in the chaos of fighting without light.

In what was a last ditch effort not to get himself killed, he threw himself on top of his assailant. Arms and legs grappled for dominance and after feeling the sting of teeth clamping down on his wrist, he growled and threw all of his weight on top of the person even as they clawed and kicked and nearly threw him over several times.

"Stop…will you stop bloody fighting me!"

"As soon as you let go of me, I'll have no reason to."

Draco Malfoy felt a dizzying nausea overtake him as the familiar, authoritative tone registered in his mind.

_Not possible. This isn't happening…_

"Granger…"

Hermione stilled beneath Malfoy for only a moment before she renewed her struggles and broke free of his grasp.

"Listen to me-"

"I'll kill you before I let you take me to them," Hermione bit out as he did his best to establish his hold on her.

Images clicked into place in her mind. She saw the cell where she had spent countless days hoping for death rather than the endless torment. She saw that same fate, or worse, as Malfoy used his weight to hold her against one of the trees, keeping her still for at least a moment so he could speak.

"They've fanned out through the forest to find you. Right now I'm the only one who's covering this direction. If you continue east you can get out. Granger, are you listening to me?"

"How many of them are there?" She asked slowly, not entirely believing him but having nothing else to go on.

"There are only seven. No more could be spared."

"It's a trap, isn't it?" Hermione hardly felt the tears that spilled over from her eyes and onto her bleeding cheeks. She was exhausted and hurt in so many ways that defied physical pain that her tears were the last thing she was paying any mind. "You don't have the courage to turn me in yourself, so you'll let one of them do it. Is that it?"

"You don't have to believe me and I see why you wouldn't, but what else do you have to go on?"

A sliver of moonlight peeked through the branches and Hermione saw that Malfoy was bleeding from his nose and one of his eyes was already beginning to bruise. He was looking at her with such solemn urgency that she felt intense unease over her inability to decide whether or not he was setting a trap for her to run headlong into.

She heard voices in the distance and new time had run out. She shrugged out of Malfoy's grip and backed away from him, going east.

"Malfoy…"

He heard more voices and couldn't seem to distinguish where they were coming from. He felt lightheaded as an odd calm settled over him and Granger continued to back away like a skittish deer. "Granger, run."

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><p>Exactly three weeks after encountering Draco Malfoy in an isolated forest on the outskirts of a Muggle village in Glendale, England, Hermione Granger collapsed on the front steps of Ingraham Cottage, only to be found several hours later and dragged inside by a lone redheaded witch.<p>

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><p><strong>Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read. If you could spare some time to drop a review I will love you forever and you will most likely see quicker updates. ;) <strong>


	2. The price of survival

_Hermione felt the mattress dip gently beneath his weight and smiled shyly as she held open her arms in welcome. The room was dark but she felt the warmth of his skin flush against hers and the gooseflesh that his roaming hands left in their wake. _

"_Merlin, your skin…" Draco shifted to place a kiss at her collarbone and felt the soft shudder of her breath being released all at once. He smiled against her flesh and moved his mouth lower, content to stay this way for the foreseeable future._

_Hermione's fingernails lightly bit into his shoulders as her body hummed with the pleasurable assault on her senses._

"_You're killing me."_

"_We can't have that, can we?"_

_Hermione lifted Draco's head and crushed her lips against his in a dizzying kiss that might as well have stopped time. _

"_Always teasing me," She murmured, resting her forehead against his. It was a tender gesture that threw them both off and made his heart do a slow turn in his chest. _

_Draco grinned and nipped at her lower lip playfully. "Old habits die hard, I suppose…"_

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><p>"She looks much better today, Ginny. Her cheeks are a lively sort of red."<p>

"That's true enough. I know she'll wake up when she's good and ready but it would be a relief if it was sooner rather than later."

"I'm sure she will. There's already an enormous thought cloud growing over her head. It's a good sign."

"Right. Luna, keep an eye on the soup. I'll hand out the pain potions upstairs."

Hermione struggled to hang onto consciousness. She faintly heard the soft melody that Luna Lovegood was humming and she could smell the homey scent of soup, but it was a battle to hang on to reality when it would be so much easier to slip back into the comfort of old memories.

"L-luna?"

Hermione heard the soft patter of feet and blinked as Luna's beaming face swam into focus.

"Hullo, Hermione. Would you like a drink of water?"

"Please," Hermione whispered.

Luna quickly returned with a glass and helped Hermione sit up so she could take several cautious sips.

"Don't drink too fast. Slow sips-"

"Blast! Luna, the soup!" Ginny Weasley ran into the kitchen in a whirl of red hair and hurried over to the stove to remove a large stockpot that was boiling rapidly.

"Ginny-"

"You're just lucky it wasn't burned. I don't have the energy to put anything else together and-"

"It's good to see you haven't changed," Hermione mentioned quietly.

Ginny stilled for only a moment before whirling around and grinning at the sight of Hermione sitting up with a stack of pillows behind her back to support her.

"It took you long enough to wake up, you know." Ginny teased even as her eyes filled with tears.

"How long have I been out of it?"

"One week and three days." Luna supplied breezily. She patted Hermione's hand and went to the stove where twelve bowls were filled with soup at the flick of her wand. "I'll start them on dinner. I know the pair of you have all sorts of catching up to do."

"Thank you, Luna. I'll feed Hermione and take care of the cleanup." Ginny said as she dabbed her watery eyes on the apron she wore over her summer frock.

Luna wandered out of the kitchen with an army of soup bowls levitating behind her, both Hermione and Ginny watching with matching smiles.

As soon as they were alone, Ginny took Luna's place on the cot next to Hermione so she could give her friend a cautious examination.

"Do you feel lightheaded at all?"

"No. I'm a bit sore, my legs mostly, but other than that I'm just hungry and still a bit weak."

"Good. Everything has healed quite nicely. I'll get you a spot of soup and put on the kettle-"

"Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"All of that sounds lovely, but I could do with a hug from my closest mate."

Blinking away the remnants of her tears, Ginny gingerly leaned in and enclosed Hermione in a solid but gentle hug.

"I was so worried, Hermione."

"I'm sorry."

"I haven't heard from anyone else in months, either. When I found you, I…"

"It must have been awful. I'm sorry, Gin."

Ginny sniffed and pulled away to wipe her eyes. "I'm so relieved. Let's get some soup in you and have you feeling top notch again."

While Hermione ate, she listened as Ginny filled her in on the safe house where they currently resided. It was known as Ingraham Cottage, named after Cornelius and Annabelle Ingraham, who donated the property for the Order to use it as they wished.

"I've been here for eight months now. We have twenty beds upstairs for patients who can manage the stairs and eight more on the first floor."

"Has it just been you and Luna?"

"For the most part."

Hermione's hand began trembling as she took meager bites of the heaven sent soup. She took several bites, frustrated that her body wasn't cooperating before Ginny fluidly took over the spoon and the bowl and began feeding her friend, without pause. "The Ingraham's son, Andrew, stops by when he can. I've seen Tonks and Bill and Fleur a handful of times. Other than that, it's just us."

"I'm glad you haven't been completely alone."

"I'm grateful for that much." Ginny brought the cup of water to Hermione's lips for her to sip from and looked away as she spoke, "I…I saw Harry once. Three months ago."

Relieved, Hermione lightly gripped the other woman's wrist, desperate for her to continue. "How was he?"

"He was so tired. Worried sick about everyone, of course. He told me that he lost track of you and Ron during an attack…" The redhead trailed off, seeming lost in thought.

"Ginny?" Cautiously, Hermione continued, "I know it's hard for you, with him out there, but he'll come back to you."

"It's not that. I mean, it is hard but…Hermione," Ginny inhaled sharply and stared down at her hands before she could continue, "I'm pregnant."

Hermione felt as if she had been punched in the gut. She fell back against her pillows, battling an onslaught of emotion that had nothing to do with Ginny's pregnancy and everything to do with her own demons. She swallowed her gut reaction and smiled through the tears that were collecting in her eyes.

"Ginny, that's wonderful."

"Are you mad! There's a war on!"

"I'm still allowed to be happy for you. It's beautiful that something so good can come out of such an awful war. You have to know that."

Both women were consumed by watery smiles and leaking eyes as they leaned in for another hug.

"Leave it to you to get me all teary eyed again."

"I'm allowed to be happy about this one." Hermione held Ginny at arm's length, amazed that the slender Ginny Weasley who had grown from a scrappy girl to feisty young woman, was carrying Harry's child.

"I'm trying to be happy when I'm not worrying," Ginny admitted, "You're the only one I've told. Harry…he hasn't been back and I haven't been able to tell him."

"You'll get to tell him eventually. He'll be back."

Ginny jutted her chin and gathered the empty soup bowl, the picture of determination, as she set her mind on doing the dishes. "Too right he will."

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><p><em>Hermione curled into the fetal position on the concrete floor of her makeshift cell. She had trouble lying still when her body was spasming so violently with the aftershocks from the intensity of the Cruciatus Curse. <em>

_Her teeth chattered and it felt like her insides were coursing with electricity. Her fingers twitched as she folded her hands over her abdomen and squeezed her eyes shut, whispering, "I'm so sorry. None of this was meant to happen."_

Hermione was jolted from her restless sleep that evening by a mournful wail coming from somewhere in the cottage. She was still located in the kitchen, her cot tucked in the corner near the fireplace so she could stay cozy and Ginny and Luna were nearby.

Her heart was still leaping in her chest when she carefully swung her legs over the side of the cot and stood for the first time since Ginny had brought her inside a week earlier. Her legs were unsteady and weak but she managed to take halting steps through the kitchen, following the eerie crying sound.

"Gin? Luna?"

Hermione took to the stairs, hobbling up one step at a time as the noise grew louder and sent chills racing up her spine.

"John, please. Back into bed-"

Hermione stepped into the first room at the top of the stairs, pressing herself against the wall as a man in his nightclothes stormed past her into the hall. He was remarkably tall and moving quickly toward another room at the back of the house.

"John," Hermione wasn't sure what she was doing, exactly. The man turned, facing her with a look of anguish despite appearing half-asleep. Hermione reached her hand out, moving slowly forward until she could gently touch his arm. "You should get back into bed now. You've worried Ginny and Luna."

The man, John, glanced down at her hand with the same lost, tormented look that was slowly starting to tear at her heart. She was relieved when he nodded and turned back to shuffle into his bedroom, allowing Luna and Ginny to guide him to his bed.

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><p><strong>AN: Just to keep things clear: The golden trio are meant to be around 21 years of age at this point. Also, Harry is still looking for Horcruxes, like it was mentioned earlier- everyone was split up during a battle. More details will be forthcoming; I just don't want anyone too confused as it unfolds. **

**Thanks to everyone who favorited/added this story to their alerts, and for the feedback. How do you suppose things will progress from here? Interested to see more? Let me know what you think, dears! **


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